Georgia Anne Muldrow

Overload - Very Good, Based on 3 Critics

Pitchfork - 80Based on rating 8.0/10

80

Picture Georgia Anne Muldrow as a cosmic traveler tinkering with the limits of humanity's musical norms. You're dealing with an artist who has deeply studied both the Book of Sun Ra and Baduizm. Her interpretation has spawned one of the most daring catalogs to hit this planet--a vast, urbane suite that draws from historic spirituals, the R&B avant-garde, Afrofuturism, Madlib beats, and the soul of Roberta Flack.

Teleported from her SomeOthaShip home base to Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder, Georgia Anne Muldrow follows up the 2014-2015 releases Oligarchy Sucks and A Thoughtiverse Unmarred with her most varied and generous LP yet. Unlike her pair of full-lengths from three years prior, Overload is neither a Chris Keys-produced rap set nor a personal beat tape. Rather, it offers modern, left-of-center R&B with production assistance courtesy of a crew that includes Mike & Keys (Money Mike and J-Keys), Moods, and Lustbass, with Flying Lotus, Aloe Blacc, and Dudley Perkins credited as co-executive producers.

Georgia Anne Muldrow has been carving out her niche in alternative R&B for over a decade, and her newest release combines her signature sound with a production style more mainstream than anything on Seeds or A Thoughtiverse Unmarred. The title track incorporates a smooth chord progression and bass-heavy trap production, as Muldrow waxes lyrical about her love ("I'm on overload, in overdrive / I'm overwhelmed and overexcited / I've got that lifetime crush just for you"). The record is dominated by a happy relationship, whether it be the punchy peptalk of Play It Up or the infatuation of swing duet These Are The Things I Really Like About You with her partner Dudley Perkins.